Osteopenia Treatment in your 30’s
Hi Peter, My wife and I sat down to listen to your episode on Osteoporosis secondary to a family history of it and Dexa scan results completed in South Africa (her home of origin) this past March that suggest osteopenia. She is 34 and our primary care sent us to a Rheumatologist to seek advice and treatment. We hope to get pregnant next year and are concerned for her spinal health. The Rheumatologist said that the FDA does not allow him to legally prescribe her anything and that we just need to increase intake of Calcium rich foods and have faith that the pregnancy will be perfect. He said we can re-test with a dexa machine here since he personally knows the person who calibrates it and that the US works in T not Z scores. What would be the point of doing that if there is no treatment now? Is this information true? Your podcast made it seem like there were options for treatment to better set her up for success prior to menopause. Should we seek a different physician? Please advise. RESULTS (BMD g/cm2): L4: 0.743 L3: 0.826 L2: 0.837 L1: 0.805
Is a Body Composition (eg Withings) scale worth getting?
AMA #40 re: Visceral Fat was great. The Withings Body Comp smart scale purports to have a visceral fat metric, as well as vascular age etc. The upcoming Body Scan purports to have some Dexa-type metrics such as fat vs. muscle mass in each leg, torso and arms. Do we have any data or confidence on accuracy? ref: https://www.withings.com/us/en/body-scan
Twentysomethings and Vaping
At my son's fraternity, I was very surprised by how many of the young men were casually vaping (cannabis and nicotine). It is clear they do it all the time, and I can only imagine the health/longevity risks in years to come. What would be your compelling argument to try and persuade them to stop?